Mr T doesn't pity the fool

Newcastle Utd 0 - 2 Man City

In stark terms this was a fourth defeat in a row - but the reality was far more complex than the final scoreline would suggest. After the disappointing losses (and performances) against West Brom and Cardiff, this was a carbon copy of the Arsenal match that began the sequence - a hugely creditable display from the home side, only for their considerable efforts to go unjustly unrewarded and the title-chasing visitors to win ugly. In this instance, though, Man City needed the help of an outrageous refereeing decision to claim their three points, and the Newcastle goal that wasn't allowed to stand was much more of a talking point than the two City goals that were.

The Silver Fox made four changes from the side that lost at home to Cardiff last weekend, with Tim Krul, Iron Mike, Dreamboat and Loic Remy retuning at the expense of Rob Elliot, Massadio Haidara, HBA and Papiss Cisse. The personnel changes also meant a reshuffled defence, with Iron Mike paired with Saylor while Davide Santon reverted to left-back and MYM stepped into the suspended Mathieu Debuchy's boots on the right.

We started brightly, but any early optimism that we might be set to avoid a tenth successive defeat to City in all competitions suffered a heavy blow just seven minutes in. The move was slick enough: a neat turn and pass from David Silva, an overlapping run and cross from Aleksandar Kolarov, a clinical finish from Edin Dzeko. But we could have done more to prevent it, Goofy showing an uncharacteristic lack of awareness in letting Kolarov in, Iron Mike appearing to think better of cutting out the cross and Saylor allowing the goalscorer to steal in front of him.

As the Match Of The Day analysis underlined, City's formation in the first half approached 2-2-4-2, with nominal full-backs Kolarov and Pablo Zabaleta providing the width in midfield, allowing playmakers Silva and Samir Nasri to operate more centrally. Kolarov's cross-shot was nearly touched in by Alvaro Negredo and Silva shot just wide of the same post as the visitors threatened to double their lead.

City were strong through the centre, with Loic Remy kept very quiet and Dreamboat struggling to get into the game. Our midfield gradually got a grip on the game, though, Mr T and Mini V buzzing about and biting into tackles while hardworking duo Goofy and Moussa Sissoko carried threat on the flanks, exploiting their markers' eagerness to get forward.

Our first real opportunity was prodded wide on the volley from a corner by Saylor, and we won another when Dreamboat's audacious effort from an impossibly acute angle was tipped over and behind by Joe Hart. The subsequent flag-kick was half-cleared to Mr T, who walloped the ball left-footed into the back of the net from distance. It was a spectacular strike and he understandably lost the plot, sprinting to the touchline to embrace John Carver. Meanwhile, however, Hart had belatedly decided to appeal for offside, receiving the support of his colleagues, and after briefly conferring with the assistant referee, Mike Jones ruled it out for offside.

While it's not in question that three of our players were standing beyond the last defender, none of them interfered with play, either by touching the ball (Goofy niftily sidestepping it as it flew past) or by obstructing Hart's line of view (despite what deluded City fans might laughably claim). Ex-refs Mark Halsey and Graham Poll agreed it was a scandalous ruling - a "huge injustice", in the words of the Silver Fox, who wasn't satisfied with Jones' explanation and became embroiled in a touchline spat with Manuel Pellegrini, visibly branding him a "fucking old cunt". He has subsequently apologised and been reprimanded (though not punished) by the FA, but perhaps he should consider spending a little less time in JFK's company...

Our manager wasn't the only one fired up by the injustice - our players too were incensed and some robust challenges ensued. The ankles of the City players were probably most grateful for the half-time interval, though Jones' ear was in for a bashing from the Silver Fox as the officials made their way down the tunnel.

Tim Krul, relatively underemployed in the first period, was forced into a good save early in the second half. Before long, though, we began to impose ourselves again, Dreamboat's swerving smash unfortunately the right height for Hart to push behind. Dzeko, who had suffered a knock, was withdrawn for pacy wide man Jesus Navas, Pellegrini changing formation and tactics, hoping to catch us on the break. Negredo and Nasri both went close before the latter was crudely scythed down by international teammate MYM. Nasri might now be out for eight weeks, but those City fans complaining that MYM wasn't red-carded might like to remember Nigel de Jong's unpunished assault on HBA - the two simply don't compare. (Admittedly, though, Dreamboat was somewhat fortunate to get away without a second yellow for an unnecessary challenge on Navas on the touchline.)

By that point, the Silver Fox had signalled an intention to push harder for an equaliser by replacing defensive midfielder Mini V with a striker - but, without the option of Big Lad and the Plan B he would provide, he had to resort to Papiss Cisse, whose impact was once again negligible. Saylor actually looked a likelier scorer, one effort blocked by a sliding Kolarov and another wide after he'd been given marginally offside. Our best opportunity fell to Remy following confusion between two City defenders, but his firm left-footed strike was repelled by Hart's outstretched leg. It wasn't all one-way traffic, though, with Fernandinho heading onto Krul's crossbar and Saylor getting in the way of Negredo's shot when the Dutchman was beaten again.

The clock ticked into stoppage time - all seven minutes of it, thanks to the time it took to stretcher off Nasri - and further chances came, Remy sending a header looping harmlessly wide and substitute HBA (on for Goofy) dribbling himself into a good position only to waste it impetuously. The stage was set for the sucker punch, then, and Negredo got it, breaking a poorly executed offside trap and profiting from good fortune when his initial effort was saved by Krul but bounced off him towards the empty net.

It was a devastating end to a game in which we'd given our all and stood toe-to-toe with many people's favourites for the title. We should take heart from the performance, though, in the knowledge that it would have been sufficient to beat most Premier League sides - and indeed might have been sufficient to beat City, had Jones not intervened. Fat Sam's injury-hit and goal-shy West Ham are up next, and represent as good an opportunity as any to arrest our recent slump.

A Man City fan's perspective: Bitter And Blue

Other reports: BBC, Guardian

Clear and present danger

Much as we can delight in Fat Sam getting slapped with a 6-0 thrashing only days after losing 5-0 to a Championship side in the FA Cup, it's rather ominous that the side allowed to sharpen their claws and rack up the goals in last night's League Cup tie were Man City, our visitors to St James' on Sunday...

Parental advisory: contains images some viewers may find disturbing

Man City 4 - 0 Newcastle Utd

Six minutes. That's how long it took for my pre-season optimism to vanish as Manchester City, prompted by David Silva, ripped open our defence and took an early lead in the match.

The goal came from a simple enough ball from Silva out to the left-hand channel for Edin Dzeko to pick up.  He beat Mathieu Debuchy and crossed the ball. Saylor was in a decent position to cut it out, but instead of blocking the ball out for a corner it ricocheted off our defender and into the path of the on-running Silva who nodded home past a stranded Tim Krul.

Fifteen minutes later and as we broke forward quickly, things started to look promising. HBA fed Papiss Cisse who was robbed and with one straight pass through the centre of the park our entire midfield was taken out of the play. Sergio Aguero picked up the ball and outpaced Saylor before knocking the ball into the corner beyond the despairing dive of Krul.

If the first was a combination of errors by Debuchy, who allowed Dzeko to get beyond him, and Saylor, who should have knocked the ball out, the second was largely the fault of Moussa Sissoko, whose lazy running out from the back meant he played Aguero onside when the through-ball came.

Spidermag succumbed to a hamstring injury and Saylor saw red following an ill-advised rush of blood to the head, taking the law, and Aguero, into his own hands with something of a forearm smash which left the referee little choice.

With ten men coming out for the second half, we were always going to struggle to contain City and sure enough a third goal came as Yaya Toure's freekick sailed over the heads of Cisse and Vurnon Anita into the corner of the net. Being critical, it looked to me that while most of the wall jumped, Cisse kept his feet firmly on the ground, allowing the ball over his head.

Finally, the coup de grace came as Samir Nasri was allowed a fraction too much space by Debuchy whose sliding tackle wasn't quite close enough to nick the ball away from his international colleague and Nasri was able to calmly add a fourth.

For us it couldn't really have gone much worse. Deprived of Dreamboat before the match because his head wasn't right, we started with a three-man midfield of Mr T, Sissoko and Spidermag only to see the Argentinian fail to last the half.

At the back, we started with Debuchy, Saylor, Sideshow Bob and MYM, with Saylor's sending off prompting a reshuffle which saw Paul Dummett make his league debut in the second half as MYM moved inside.

Up front, Cisse, HBA and Goofy were well marshalled by the City defence, with Goofy sacrificed for Dummett following the sending-off.

Trying to establish some perspective, a few of thoughts occur. Firstly, the poor result should hopefully galvanise JFK and Jabba to spend some money (particularly if they are able to push up the Dreamboat price).

Secondly, while we may be the first side to get stuffed at the Etihad this season, we certainly won't be the last, so the result needs to be treated with a sense of perspective.

Finally, in my job I've been approached by headhunters seeking to entice me to move to a different job, normally in a different city and, while never explicit, probably for more money. However, while I've been content to have that conversation and explore my options, what I've never done is phone in sick saying I can't do the job I'm paid to do because I'm thinking of leaving. In any ordinary job it would unthinkable and inexcusable to do so. For Dreamboat, a man who is considered one of the finest midfielders in France and who is paid exceedingly well to ply his trade, to be unfit to work because a potential different employer has made an approach is disrespectful, inexcusable and ultimately unforgivable.

Other report: BBC

Know Your Enemies 2013/4: Part 1

Saturday sees the Premier League kick off for a new season - so let's start our preview by assessing just what we're up against over the next ten months. Disclaimer: the predictions and forecasts that follow may turn out to bear laughably little resemblance to reality...

Arsenal

Talk about putting all your eggs in one basket. Or perhaps that should be one basket-case, given that this is unhinged arm-chomper and thoroughly detestable human being Luis Suarez we're talking about. Arsene Wenger has spent the summer single-mindedly pursuing the Uruguayan striker's signature, for which he's prepared to smash the club's previously modest transfer record - and yet that pursuit has (thus far, at least) been fruitless.

Last season Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker gave the Gunners a more secure platform defensively, summer recruits Olivier Giroud and Lukas Podolski gradually acclimatised to life at the Emirates and Theo Walcott did an admirable job of attempting to plug the gap left by Robin van Persie's departure to Man Utd. But the stark reality for the club, manager and fans is that they remain without a trophy of any description since 2005 and, while with Suarez they might have the faintest whiff of a chance of breaking into the top three, without him they're once again also-rans playing for fourth place.

Aston Villa

Paul Lambert may have looked like a broken man at times last season, but survival with a few games to spare just about validated his transfer policy, team selection and tactics. This summer Villa acted swiftly and decisively to secure their key targets, all aged 23 or under - defenders Jores Okore and Antonio Luna, midfielder Leandro Bacuna, winger Alexandar Tonev and striker Nicklas Helenius. Evidence of a good scouting network and some careful groundwork - take note please, Silver Fox, JFK and Jabba...

This new clutch of youthful international talent will add to what the Villains already have, Matthew Lowton having proven a sound signing and Andreas Weimann and Fabian Delph both beginning to live up to their potential under Lambert's tutelage. Of course, most significant of all is Christian Benteke's decision to withdraw a hasty transfer request and sign a new deal, though overdependence on their star striker remains a serious danger. I still feel Darren Bent has been ostracised unnecessarily - in tandem with the Belgian, he could conceivably help fire Villa into the top half of the table.

Cardiff

2012/3 was something of an annus mirabilis for Welsh football: Swansea lifting the League Cup and thereby qualifying for Europe, Newport edging out Wrexham at Wembley to secure a return to the Football League after a quarter of a century away, and Cardiff managing to avoid crumbling like Caerphilly cheese, finally holding their nerve long enough to win the Championship and promotion to the top flight. Vindication perhaps for Vincent Tan, who had argued for the Bluebirds' controversial switch to red shirts on the dubious grounds that all the most successful teams wear red.

Tan has been equally bold this summer in allowing manager Malkay Mackay to break the club's transfer record on no fewer than three occasions, with Danish striker Andreas Cornelius, Spurs defender Steven Caulker and aggressive Chile midfielder Gary Medel all recruited. Medel will be teaming up with another infamous walking red card, a certain No-Necked Text Pest, who probably thought his Premier League days were over. More's the pity. Let's just hope he doesn't come back to bite us.

Chelsea

The ego has landed, again! In all the excitement over the return of the self-proclaimed Special One - the media swooning in eager anticipation of his breathtaking arrogance, enigmatic eyebrow-arching and entertainingly expert ruffling of feathers - few have queried the wisdom of the move. Revisiting the scene of previous managerial success rarely ends happily - not that Jose Mario dos Santos Mourinho Felix's first spell in charge ended happily either. He twice took Chelsea to the title and has since won the Champions League (as have the Blues, with Roberto di Matteo at the helm). Surely the man who could once upon a time have been our assistant manager has nothing to gain and everything to lose?

All the same, the calibre of the squad at his disposal is arguably the best in the league. Was it really only two years ago that we finished above Chelsea? That would be inconceivable now. Andre Schurrle and Marco van Ginkel have bolstered their options in midfield and forward areas, while the return of  Belgian loanees Kevin de Bruyne and especially Romelu Lukaku to line up alongside compatriot Eden Hazard makes them an even more formidable prospect. Rafa Benitez's tenure may already seem like a distant dream, but his legacy was not only the Europa League trophy but also the conversion of David Luiz, the subject of unwanted attention from Barcelona this summer, from an ill-disciplined central defender mocked by Gary Neville to an accomplished defensive midfielder. Mourinho might not actually need to work any magic of his own to lift another title.

Crystal Palace

And so to another London club whose manager's pronouncements are media manna and who have made a significant (if somewhat lower-profile) recruit from Spain. Like fellow promotees Cardiff, Palace have gone to Sevilla in search of midfield reinforcement and returned with the country's U20 captain Jose Campana. Quite a coup, though, it may unsettle Mile Jedinak, the Australian crowned the club's player of the year last season despite stiff competition from the now departed Wilfried Zaha.

Up front, while more limited than the likes of Grant Holt and Ricky Lambert before him, Glenn Murray will be hoping to prove himself another meat-and-potatoes striker unpalatable to the delicate stomachs of Premier League defenders. He's now been joined by Dwight Gayle, a revelation at Posh but an expensive gamble for Palace, and Arsenal's no-trick showpony Marouane Chamakh. However well those three do, though, is likely to be negated by a defence in which Peter Ramage is considered a stalwart.

Everton

Since his appointment as David Moyes' replacement at Goodison Park, Roberto Martinez has - perhaps inevitably - regarded former club Wigan much as a famished tramp might regard an eat-all-you-like buffet. The ink had hardly dried on his new contract when he beat us to the signature of Arouna Kone as well as getting his sticky paws on the Ivorian's Latics team-mate Antolin Alcaraz and Atletico Madrid's JJB Stadium loanee Joel Robles. Few would be surprised if James McCarthy or Massadio Haidara's chum Callum McManaman were to tread that well-trodden path before the closure of the transfer window too.

With Nikica Jelavic falling into poor form and Victor Anichebe inconsistent (except against us), Kone will serve as a focal point for Everton's attack, aided and abetted by Gerard Deulofeu, an eyecatching loan signing from Barcelona. At the time of writing at least, Martinez can still call upon the services of Marouane Fellaini and Leighton Baines, while Kevin Mirallas is yet another Belgian increasingly at home in the Premier League. Where the Toffees might come unstuck, though, is in defence, the Spaniard's brand of fluent football generally coming at the expense of clean sheets. Paired with Alcaraz, the ageing Sylvain Distin or the past-it John Heitinga, Phil Jagielka will probably be left feeling like King Canute.

Fulham

Fulham bade farewell to Mohamed Al Fayed this summer, welcoming luxuriantly moustached new owner Shahid Khan, and there has also been a changing of the guard between the posts, with Mark Schwarzer making the short but improbable hop to Stamford Bridge to be replaced by Maarten Stekelenburg. The Dutch international might be ten years his Australian counterpart's junior, but, at 30, he hardly helps give the Cottagers' ageing squad a youthful feel - and neither do fellow new boys Derek Boateng and Fernando Amorebieta, aged 29 and 30 respectively. All it would take for Fulham to pitch up in peril, you suspect, would be a global shortage of cod liver oil...

At least full-back Sascha Riether, now a permanent signing, gives some energy on the right flank, though Martin Jol's decision to help alleviate 'Appy 'Arry's wage bill burden by borrowing Adel Taarabt is mystifying - he couldn't get the best out of the mercurial Moroccan when at Spurs, since when the latter has repeatedly flattered to deceive in the top flight. Like the Michael Jackson statue Al Fayed erected outside the ground, you wonder how long Jol might survive in situ under the new regime.

Hull

Shahid Khan might own Jacksonville Jaguars, but it's Hull 's Assem Allam who appears determined to rebrand his club as an NFL-style franchise. Hull City Tigers? They'll be playing at the Frosties Bowl any day now... Whatever, the Tigers' promotion gives us the opportunity to renew hostilities with Ol' Cauliflower Face - one plastic Geordie following in the footsteps of another, Phil Brown. How long before we see the first half-time team bollocking on the pitch?

In fairness to Agent Bruce, he did do an excellent job at the Mackems - as did Agent Graham (£5m of their money squandered in return for no goals whatsoever). Perhaps that mutual bond is what's drawn them together. While Charlie Austin failed a medical, George Boyd signed permanently - presumably the Tigers' eye test is rather less strenuous than Forest's... Also joining the gold-clad ranks are two goalkeepers, Allan McGregor and our old boy Steve Harper - does Bruce realise he can't play them both at once? Even if he could, survival would still be a long shot.

Liverpool

You've got to hand it to Luis Suarez. It was no mean feat becoming the most odious player in a league also featuring John Terry and Ashley Cole, and now he's managed to offend the minority who felt differently at the start of the summer too. Liverpool have quite rightly attracted universal mockery and scorn for their blind defence of the Uruguayan and his various misdemeanours, so Brendan Rodgers was justified in describing the striker's attempts to engineer a move away from Anfield as displaying "total disrespect". The manager's demand for an apology is only likely to inflame the situation and harden Suarez's resolve to leave, though, and while a move to Arsenal looks increasingly improbable I simply can't see him staying at the club and being reintegrated into the side.

So where would that leave the Reds' front line? As we found out to our considerable cost, Daniel Sturridge and Philippe Coutinho are perfectly capable of wreaking havoc in Suarez's absence. In Luis Alberto and Iago Aspas Liverpool have a couple of promising new attacking options in wide areas, and while Raheem Sterling needs to rediscover his mojo, Jordon Ibe has caught the eye in pre-season. The unsentimental dumping of Pepe Reina in favour of Simon Mignolet raised a few eyebrows, but will nevertheless be for the long-term good. Nevertheless, key central defenders Martin Skrtel and Daniel Agger may both be unsettled, having been linked with moves to the continent, and flogging Rocky and Stewart Downing to West Ham for £35m less than they shelled out was an embarrassing indictment of their recent transfer policy. Sixth is surely as good as it'll get.

Man City

Long gone are the days when finishing second in the top flight, reaching the FA Cup final and participating in the Champions League group stage would have been considered achievement enough for Man City. After the high of lifting the league title in 2011/12, last season was a serious disappointment, with Roberto Mancini unsurprisingly paying the price of failure and (after a protracted pursuit) Manuel Pellegrini installed as the new man in the hotseat.

The moneymen's solution, of course, was to get the chequebook out, and £87m has been spunked on a quartet of new players - Alvaro Negredo, Fernandinho, Jesus Navas and Stevan Jovetic - all of whom promise to add to City's threat in attacking situations. Pellegrini's most acute dilemma is how to juggle all the talent at his disposal, and how to get more out of those supposed superstars the club already owned (Samir Nasri and Javi Garcia, for a start). Here's hoping the secret formula is still eluding him by the time we kick off against them on Monday evening.

City slicker (than us)

Newcastle Utd 1 - 3 Manchester City

As is fast becoming the story of our season, this was once again a "nearly" performance. Behind to a City side playing some fantastic football, we nearly clawed our way back to level terms, had them worried about hanging on to their lead for a time in the second half, but ultimately were left rueing missed chances as the visitors left with all three points.

With HBA hamstrung the Silver Fox opted to bring Perchinho into a defensive midfield with Vurnon Anita and Mr T, pushing Spidermag further forward in support of Papiss Cisse and Demba Ba. However, it was the visitors who started the brighter, with Samir Nasri pulling the strings behind Carlos Tevez and Sergio Aguero and sure enough it was Aguero who opened the scoring, timing his run to perfection to get on the end of Nasri's pass.

Already behind, it could have been a lot worse with Nasri hitting the post and Krul by far the busier keeper.

With the Mancini's team playing some cracking football, there was a depressing inevitability when City added a second, albeit Javi Garcia's header from a David Silva corner should have been cleared by Davide Santon who somehow contrived to miss the ball on the line.

At half-time the Silver Fox's words clearly had a galvanising effect, with Ba and Cisse moving closer together in the second half and posing a greater threat. It was Ba who narrowed the arrears, getting on to Sideshow Bob's first-time ball back into the box after a slightly wayward Anita corner. As the ball came back in, both Ba and Cisse timed their runs to get in behind the defence, with Ba rising well to head the ball over the stranded Joe Hart.

With the game in the balance it was Cisse who squandered the opportunity to level the scores. Having worked himself an opening on the edge of the box he fired over to add another chance to the frustratingly long list of "chances he'd have taken last season".

With our midfield working well, and Anita in particular impressing, we continued to press for an equaliser only to be cruelly undone by Yaya Toure when he finally sealed the game with ten minutes remaining.

So once again we're left rueing missed Cisse chances and thinking of what might have been. For what it's worth, the fact that Cisse continues to fashion chances makes me believe that at some stage things are going to go right for him. Here's hoping that day is nearly with us.

Other reports: BBC, Guardian 

Know Your Enemies 2012/3: Part 1

Yes, it's that time of year again when I foolishly record for posterity my appraisals of our Premier League opponents - you know, writing off sides who end up surviving comfortably and serving up puff pieces for players who spectacularly fail to live up to their billing (Roger Johnson at Wolves being last season's classic example)...

Arsenal

If you ever find yourself round Arsene Wenger's house for tea, it's a pretty safe bet that you won't find meat and potatoes on the menu. No, it'll be tapas - continental, tasty, lots of spice and zest, a bit insubstantial. The Professor has once again spunked his pocket money on European flair and firepower - Spanish winger Santi Cazorla and strikers Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud - rather than addressing the long-standing soft-centredness that has meant that Arsenal have been the Vincibles and not won silverware of any description since 2005.

In fairness to Wenger, he's probably hoping that one of Abou Diaby, Alex Song or Emmanuel Frimpong steps up and develops into the Vieira-esque midfield enforcer the Gunners have been so sorely lacking, and the return of Jack Wilshere can't come soon enough. Meanwhile there were signs last season that Laurent Koscielny was starting to come good and that sub-editor's nightmare Wojciech Szczesny has the potential to become the top-quality 'keeper they've been without for so long. Though Wenger may maintain otherwise, Giroud and Podolski were obviously recruited to replace contract rebel Robin van Persie - but, with the Dutchman still at the Emirates for the time being, Arsenal have a formidable array of forwards to choose from. One thing's for certain - whether van Persie stays or goes, the Gunners will need to become much less Robin-reliant.

Aston Villa

I'm not sure Villa fans do joy (or indeed anything other than dour, glum and gallows humour), but even they must be feeling close to cheerily chipper at the summer's events. First of all - and most critically - despised former Bluenose Alex McLeish was given the boot, having seen his mission to relegate both Birmingham clubs in successive seasons foiled at the death. Then came his replacement, Paul Lambert, an upwardly mobile and increasingly well-respected young manager with a hunger for success and a passion for hard work. And then there are the new signings, and in particular an intriguing trio of arrivals from the Eredivisie: Moroccan midfielder Karim El Ahmadi, Australian winger Brett Holman and (after some protracted transfer shenanigans) uncompromising Dutch international defender Ron Vlaar.

Lambert has cleared out some of the old guard, selling Carlos Cuellar and James Collins, perhaps out of recognition that the club is blessed with a promising clutch of youngsters: Marc Albrighton, Barry Bannan, Ciaran Clark, Gary Gardner and potential hotshot Andreas Weimann. Add to that the fact that Darren Bent - one of the league's deadliest finishers - is back to full fitness, Charles N'Somnia must surely improve on his first season in claret and blue, and his ex-Toon colleague Shay Given has retired from international football to concentrate on his day job, and there are plenty of reasons for the perma-grumbling long-suffering Villa faithful to at least try mustering a smile.

Chelsea

Someone at Stamford Bridge seems to have decided that Arsene Wenger's transfer strategy would be worth pursuing for Chelsea too - namely, scouring the globe and hoovering up the best forwards available. The Blues can consider themselves fortunate to have landed arguably the most wanted man in Europe this summer, Belgian flying machine Eden Hazard, and have also shelled out the best part of a further £30m on Marko Marin and Oscar, one of the stars of Brazil's losing Olympic finalists. As statements of intent go, it's quite clear - they're not happy at finishing below us upstarts, and are capable of flexing their financial muscles to chilling effect.

Andre Villas-Boas' undoing was attempting to phase out some of the more senior members of the squad (John Terry and Frank Lampard, basically) too quickly, a challenge which remains for his successor. Roberto di Matteo has the cushion of a heroic salvage operation behind him (the Champions League and FA Cup - not a bad double to win), but Roman Abramovich has shown on several occasions that he's not swayed by sentiment, unprepared to allow managers to trade on former glories and ruthless at the slightest hint of trouble. Responsibility for the Italian's longevity rests at least in part with Fernando Torres, very much the main man he wanted to be now that Didier Drogba has trotted off to stud in China.

Everton

Forever the bridesmaids, Everton missed out on European football by a whisker last season, the delight at finishing above Liverpool in seventh tempered by their Merseyside rivals' qualification for the Europa League by virtue of winning the League Cup. Had they not suffered a sluggish start to the campaign and been able to get Nikica Jelavic and Steven Pienaar on board sooner, they may well have placed higher. In the Croatian, David Moyes seems to have found a figurehead for their attack, while the permanent return of prodigal son Pienaar to Goodison Park from the wilderness at Spurs has now been sealed.

The Toffees will need the South African's guile and energy, now that mercurial loanee Royston Drenthe has left, though Leon Osman has quietly established himself as one of the league's most underrated performers. Defensively Moyes' men are sound, Phil Jagielka and Johnny Heitinga providing a solid platform and Leighton Baines- still at the club despite persistent rumours of interest from Man Utd - an additional attacking threat down the left. However, the moneymen's millions have spirited away Jack Rodwell and, while Goodison Park's corner flags may be breathing a sigh of relief at no longer being used as punchbags, Evertonians will also be mourning the departure of long-term servant of the club Tim Cahill.

Fulham

Poor Fulham. Not only have they suffered the indignity of having two key members of their strikeforce, Bobby Zamora and now Andrew Johnson, poached by their former manager Mark Hughes, now in charge of their nouveau riche west London neighbours QPR; they also looked on in dismay as Pavel Pogrebnyak, an undisputed hit on loan at Craven Cottage last campaign, spurned their advances in favour of cosying up with Premier League new boys Reading. And it could get worse, with Fantasy Football fans' favourite Clint Dempsey (listed as a midfielder, plays up front) allegedly coveted by a host of clubs including Liverpool. That would have left just long-haired layabout Bryan Ruiz, if it wasn't for the fact that Martin Jol managed to pick up Mladen Petric following his release by Hamburg.

In midfield, Danny Murphy has departed, bizarrely choosing to join the circus at Blackburn rather than bow out gracefully, but the Cottagers still boast the muscle of Mahamadou Diarra, once upon a time a 26m euro signing for Real Madrid, and craft in wide areas from Moussa Dembele and Damien Duff. Much depends on the fitness of defensive lynchpin Brede Hangeland, though a breakthrough season for exciting youngster Kerim Frei would also help.

Liverpool

As was widely anticipated, lifting the League Cup wasn't enough to save King Kenny from being deposed following a miserable Premier League campaign which saw the Reds lose as many games as they won and finish a full 13 points below us in eighth. Few beyond Merseyside felt any sympathy for Dalglish or the club, though, their campaign having been blighted by the shameful Luis Suarez v Patrice Evra affair, which was as ugly as the now-departed Dirk Kuyt. Forward-thinking football philosopher Brendan Rodgers is the new man at the helm (a sharp contrast to his surly, old-school predecessor), but the clear lesson of the recent past - namely, avoid splurging obscene amounts in the domestic transfer market - doesn't seem to have been heeded. Rocky and Jordan Henderson should stand as cautionary examples, and yet £15m has still been lavished on Joe Allen, a promising enough talent but surely overpriced given that we picked up Mr T and Dreamboat for a combined total of around £8m.

The price tag that Rocky was burdened with wasn't his fault, though, and while his partnership with Suarez hasn't worked out thus far, there were signs towards the end of last season, and particularly in the FA Cup Final, that he may yet have a future at Anfield - if he can fend off the challenge of new signing Fabio Borini, that is. Also unsettled is Daniel Agger, the subject of interest from Man City - though personally I rate his central defensive partner Martin Skrtel more highly. Should the Dane leave, Rodgers is reported to be eyeing up Ashley Williams as a replacement, which would mean breaching his gentleman's agreement with former employers Swansea for a second time. Crucial to the Scousers' chances of improvement is both Steven Gerrard and Lucas Leiva staying fit.

Man City

What do you get for the man who has everything? Well, until recently - and much to the frustration of that man, Roberto Mancini - it seemed as though the answer was nothing. The Italian had refused to allow himself to get caught up in the euphoria of City's first top-tier title win since 1968, instead looking to strengthen the squad. And what a squad it already is: a superb goalkeeper (Joe Hart), the division's best defender (skipper Vincent Kompany), midfield power and finesse (Yaya Toure) and electrifying skill (David Silva, Samir Nasri, Adam Johnson) and awesome firepower (Sergio Aguero, Edin Dzeko, back-in-the-fold Carlos Tevez, lunatic genius Mario Balotelli). It's telling that fat-salaried strikers Emmanuel Adebayor and Roque Santa Cruz, plus John Guidetti, the Swedish forward who racked up 20 goals in 23 appearances on loan at Feyenoord last season, are nowhere near the first XI.

In the wake of Mancini's public plea for expenditure, owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan finally reached down the back of the sofa and found £12m in loose change to secure the benchwarming services of Everton's Jack Rodwell. It's hard to see where else reinforcements are required - central defence appears to have been identified as one area of concern, in light of the approach for Liverpool's Agger - but Mancini will be conscious of the fact that last season's title race was far more closely contested than it should have been.

Man Utd

Quite how Man Utd were within seconds of lifting the trophy remains a mystery. Multi-million-pound signing David De Gea's Old Trafford career got off to a decidedly shaky start, though he did grow in confidence once restored to the team following Anders Lindegaard's absence through injury; with Nemanja Vidic laid up long-term, Jonny Evans, Chris Smalling, Phil Jones and the previously imperious Rio Ferdinand all looked fallible; and they were so bereft of central midfield options in January that Taggart had to coax 37-year-old Paul Scholes away from a life of tea, biscuits and Bargain Hunt in front of the fire. Though that move smacked of desperation (and certainly spoke volumes for the quality of the squad), it was completely vindicated as the midfield maestro came close to inspiring the Red Devils to glory once again.

That Man Utd squandered a nine-point lead at the top would have left them smarting enough; that it was their "noisy neighbours" who pipped them to the prize, and in such excruciating circumstances, having already humiliated them 6-1 on their own turf, will be all the inspiration they need to gain revenge in the forthcoming campaign. Taggart's response has been to sign goalscoring midfielders Shinji Kagawa from Borussia Dortmund and young prospect Nick Powell from Crewe, and to make aggressive moves for Robin van Persie. If he's able to pair the Dutchman with Wayne Rooney, then Roberto Mancini - and the rest of us - will be justifiably worried.

Norwich

There might be someone new in the Canaries' manager's office, but the club's transfer policy apparently remains the same: gradually and stealthily sign up the entire Leeds midfield. Skillful playmaker Robert Snodgrass finds himself reunited with Jonny Howson and Bradley Johnson at Carrow Road, while one-time £9m defender Michael Turner has arrived from Sunderland and midfielder Jacob Butterfield from Barnsley. Their new gaffer is Chris Hughton, who we're delighted to see getting another opportunity to manage in the top flight following his decidedly unfortunate experience on Tyneside.

This time last summer many - myself included - were speculating whether two successive promotions would mean that the Premier League was too much too soon for Norwich, but their overwhelmingly British squad exhibited stereotypically British qualities - fight, grit, determination - and no little ability to prove the sceptics wrong. No one epitomised the "Let's be 'avin' you!" spirit more than Grant Holt, the journeyman striker hitting 17 goals and claiming the club's Player of the Year award for the third consecutive season. Contractual wrangles have been ironed out, confirming that his future lies at Carrow Road, and the Canaries' fate once again rests firmly on his broad shoulders.

* * * * *

Part 2 will follow tomorrow.

A bridge Tou far?

Newcastle Utd 0 - 2 Man City

A valiant effort against Man City at St James' Park on Sunday wasn't quite enough to stave off defeat - though we can feel proud at having given the champions elect a very good game and a number of scares. Pundits droned on that City's cross-Manchester rivals could have few complaints about our efforts and endeavour, neglecting the fact that the game had critical import for our Champions League challenge too. That so much was riding on the result for both sides led to a gripping and dramatic match.

Not surprisingly given Wednesday evening's heroics, the Silver Fox selected an unchanged side, meaning that Perchinho continued to deputise for the injured Danny Simpson at right-back. In terms of formation, though, we seemed to have switched to a more traditional 4-4-2, with HBA appearing on the right-hand flank rather than pushing forwards to make a trio with Papiss Cisse and Demba Ba.

Caution appeared to be the watchword early on, as we allowed the visitors to dictate the game while hoping to catch them on the break. City's superstars stroked the ball around comfortably, though Mr T - patched up following his encounter with John Obi Mikel's elbow - was buzzing about like a man possessed, crunching into tackles to protect his defence. Tim Krul made fairly straightforward saves from Sergio Aguero and David Silva, and looked on without distress when back-in-the-fold black sheep Carlos Tevez tried his luck with a free-kick.

The gulf between our midfield and forwards was too large for the opening half hour, but when we did belatedly start to threaten, the signs suddenly looked promising. Ba blasted over from the edge of the area and was then denied by a Vincent Kompany block. The ball bounced invitingly for HBA to strike it, but Joe Hart parried away at his near post.

Still, we were thankful to get in all square at the break. When the tricky Silva fed Gareth Barry, his second attempt found its way past Krul only for the well-placed Davide Santon to knock it off the line, a combination of Krul and Sideshow Bob clearing the danger. That's two goal-line clearances in two games from our Italian full-back - good to know that, in Simpson's absence, someone else is stepping up to that particular plate.

The second half began in much the same way, with City controlling possession but failing to cause much alarm. It was at this point that Roberto Mancini decided to introduce professional leg-breaker Nigel de Jong for the ineffective Samir Nasri. A bizarrely defensive move, it seemed - but not so. The Dutch destroyer stationed himself in front of the back four, with Yaya Toure given licence to push forwards - and, as his compatriot Mr T started to tire, City's midfield man mountain soon reaped the benefits. When Aguero laid the ball off on the edge of the area, our closing down could have been sharper, but credit to Toure for clipping a precise curler past Krul.

Drawn out of our shell, we were increasingly vulnerable to City raids and Aguero should have doubled their advantage shortly afterwards, his shot rolling mercifully wide of Krul's left-hand post. Perchinho and HBA left the action for Shane Ferguson and Big Lad, with Spidermag filling in at left-back to enable to Ferguson to worry City on the wing. Our persistence forced a couple of opportunities, with Cisse heading harmlessly over and Big Lad seeing a ferocious shot blocked.

It wasn't to be, though. With a minute remaining and City apparently content to wind the clock down, Gael Clichy caught us napping, playing in Toure inside the area. The Ivorian took a touch and then knocked the ball coolly past Krul.

As well as we performed, we should acknowledge that title-chasers were the better side. No shame in defeat, though, and the applause that greeted the players' post-match lap of honour to mark the last home fixture of the season was richly deserved - recognition of an extraordinary campaign that could yet hold yet more joy. Arsenal and Spurs both picked up points, meaning final-day victories will secure them third and fourth place respectively regardless of what we can achieve at Goodison Park, but their failure to win ensures the dream of Champions League qualification isn't dead just yet.

Other reports: BBC, Guardian

"Doing a Newcastle"

Sadly, the phrase "doing a Newcastle" doesn't yet mean "balancing the books and acting in a financially prudent and responsible fashion". No, it apparently means "throwing away a healthy lead at the top of the Premier League to hand the title to Man Utd" - according to the link that led to this article, anyway.

Under the impression that Man City might be choking as we did back in 1996, the BBC's Jimmy Smallwood has been speaking to Robert Lee. Our former midfielder pinpoints the home defeat by our closest foes that season as crucial - all the more demoralising given how severely we'd battered their defence and Peter Schmeichel in particular - and identifies failing to lift the trophy as "the biggest regret of my career", claiming "We would have been in Geordie folklore for many, many years". I wouldn't worry, Rob - you've gone down in Geordie folklore all the same.

Meanwhile, another definition of "doing a Newcastle" might be "to fail to control your players". Yep, we've been found guilty of that offence for the second time this season. Our fine, at £40,000, is double that of the Mackems for that reason - though that doesn't make it any easier to swallow when the whole situation was initially inflamed by our visitors and Lee Cattermole's first-minute assault on Mr T in particular.

Pride before and after a fall

Man City 3 - 1 Newcastle Utd

As the media had unanimously predicted, and as we too had all probably feared, Saturday's trip to the Etihad Stadium saw our unbeaten league run come to an end. But, far from being a limp surrender, it was a courageous effort that in truth merited more than just what was the very definition of a consolation goal (if not quite a share of the points).

The Silver Fox could call upon a first-choice back five who, if they were relieved at Roberto Mancini's decision to rest David Silva, will hardly have been delighted by the presence on the City team-sheet of another creative talisman, Samir Nasri. Pardew chose to respond to the selection dilemmas posed by the injuries to Leon O'Best, Mr T, Obertan Kenobi and Sylvain Marveaux by playing HBA in the hole behind lone strike Demba Ba and handing Little Big Lad his first league start.

City's multimillionaire dream team inevitably bossed possession, but the first forty minutes encapsulated everything that's been good about our team ethic thus far this campaign - we were resolute, committed, determined, well-drilled, difficult to break down. Sergio Aguero fired into the stand behind Tim Krul's goal before the Dutchman spectacularly pawed Mario Balotelli's bullet header over. That was his only real taste of action, though, with Sideshow Bob marshalling our efforts superbly and masked man Saylor intervening with a couple of well-timed hoofs when City stopped playing nicely and attempted to go for the jugular.

However, to imply that we simply adopted a negative, sterile, park-the-bus-type strategy would be grossly unfair. As the Silver Fox bemoaned later, twice Ba could have given us the lead, heading wide from a corner and also forcing an excellent save from Joe Hart after a darting run and clever reverse pass from HBA.

If only the half-time whistle had blown five minutes early, then - as it was, we had to look on as all that good work was undone in a brief spell that Raylor will certainly be wanting to forget in a hurry. First he blatantly handled Yaya Toure's goal-bound volley - ball to hand, certainly, but you can't make like an aeroplane and expect to get away with it. "Super" Mario fooled Krul from the spot and then chose to rub salt into the wounds by staring him out, arms folded - an unsavoury bit of unsportsmanlike conduct from the man whom ASBO's nicknamed the Renegade and whose conduct makes the Lone Ranger's seem like that of a sane and restrained individual.

Then, with the opportunity to recover and regroup in the dressing room just a minute away, Raylor intercepted Nasri's attempted pass to Micah Richards but, rather than putting his laces though the ball, he miscontrolled it allowing Richards to nip in and wallop a left-foot shot past Krul. We shouldn't be too harsh on our left-back after his stunning goal won us the previous game against Everton, but it was schoolboyish stuff.

That left us with a second-half task that looked near-impossible, but to our credit we refused to recognise that fact, or to be overawed or overrun by opponents who can boast individuals who've cost more than our entire team and who have decimated Man Utd and Spurs on their own turf. Sideshow Bob volleyed over from a set-piece and Danny Guthrie's low effort caused Hart some trouble. HBA came closest, busily buzzing around and working space for a shot which came back off Hart's right-hand post with the England 'keeper a spectator.

We couldn't quite force that foothold in the game, though, and City extended their lead with another penalty, HBA guilty of a clumsy challenge on Richards with Saylor temporarily off the pitch for medical attention. Aguero was in no mood to look a gift horse in the mouth, ensuring City became the first side to put three past us in the league this season.

The calibre of City's substitutes - Silva, Gareth Barry and Adam Johnson - was terrifying, but it was one of our own who grabbed the game's final goal a minute from time. Dan Gosling, on for Little Big Lad, pounced to roll the ball into an empty net, his first strike for the club, after Hart had saved but failed to smother Ba's shot.

There's no shame in defeat to the runaway league leaders, especially when they were dependent upon two spot-kicks and an individual cock-up to achieve it, and it's a measure of how far we've come that our post-match disappointment was purely with the result rather than the performance. The defence was once again magnificent for long stretches, aided by a compact and hard-working midfield, while Little Big Lad gave Gael Clichy, his French international marker, plenty of headaches and demonstrated that he's worthy of his recent new contract and further first-team opportunities. HBA stole the show, though, coming out on top in his much-anticipated duel with Nigel de Jong and unlucky to end up on the losing side, that untidy challenge on Richards the only blot. The signs for a fruitful partnership with Ba are promising.

The challenge facing us this coming Saturday is much the same, even down to the environs. Man Utd look to be somewhat below par at the moment, though, still recovering from their mauling by their cross-city rivals and more suspect defensively than is usual. Our record at Old Trafford is appalling, but this is a Newcastle side with few similarities to its predecessors and, with the right application and a healthy dose of self-belief, a draw or even a victory isn't beyond the realms of possibility.

A City fan's perspective: Bitter And Blue

Other reports: BBC, Observer

Boxing Day blues

Newcastle Utd 1 - 3 Man City

Surely someone should tell the players that that riff about Christmas presents and generosity of spirit is getting a bit tired now? Careless mistakes effectively cost us the game within the first five minutes and ensured it's now nine years since we recorded a three-point post-Christmas haul.

Alan Pardew made two changes to the side that won his first game in charge a fortnight ago, with Sol Campbell and Big Lad not featuring. The former was replaced by Sideshow Bob (with Mike Williamson a bit unfortunate to have to be content with a place on the bench) and the latter with Wayne Routledge, meaning a change of formation to 4-5-1 and a combative central midfield to rival that of the visitors.

Pardew couldn't legislate for individual blunders, though, and we got off to the worst possible start. Snood-wearing sneak Carlos Tevez nipped in to steal Tim Krul's lamentably poor pass to ASBO and feed the overlapping Gareth Barry, who had a simple task to tuck the ball home unchallenged.

Three minutes later our predicament worsened. This time the normally reliable Cheik Tiote was the culprit, a lackadaisical pass again seized upon by Tevez, who knocked the ball wide to James Milner and burst forward to slice our old boy's cross cleverly across Krul and into the top corner. He celebrated by producing a dummy from his sock - but the dummies were those in black and white stood around looking at each other in disbelief.

Thankfully, we found sufficient composure and assuredness to dispel thoughts of the afternoon descending into a truly horrific massacre. Rocky, as ever, was key to our revival, once again showing that even supposedly top-class defenders can find him unplayable. Time and again the ball would be lofted in his general direction and, with Joleon Lescott or Vincent Kompany odds-on favourites to clear, his forehead would meet it first. Little wonder he's caught Roberto Mancini's eye. One diving header went to the right of the goal and a fierce shot after some decent skill flew to the left, but the most presentable chance - from a perfect Routledge cross - he planted straight at Joe Hart.

City still looked dangerous, though mostly from distance. Both goalscorers came close with shots that just cleared the crossbar, while Aleksandar Kolarov - regularly aggravated in defensive areas by Routledge, who was having one of his more effective games - also unleashed a couple of venomous long-range efforts that had Geordie hearts a-flutter.

Desperate defending early in the second half denied City a third but by and large we continued to control the game after the break. Tiote was knitting things together effectively in the centre, though neither Kevin Nolan nor ASBO were enjoying particularly good games and Spidermag's reluctance to give Jose Enrique options or to take on his marker Jerome Boateng started to irritate the home crowd. Enrique, once again superb in all areas of the pitch, should perhaps learn to trust and indulge his own attacking instincts a bit more.

City's treatment of ASBO and particularly Rocky could be described as robust and uncompromising at best, and those in black and white were dumbfounded and incensed when a blatant penalty-box shove on our number nine was ignored. Sensing that the visitors' back line could be unsettled, Pardew withdrew Routledge on the hour and sent on Nile Ranger, who had been in line for a first Premier League start but who had paid the price for an alleged attitude problem.

Sure enough, Lescott and Kompany looked even less assured as the pressure mounted and we had a vital foothold back in the game when the imperious Rocky bundled in a header from ASBO's corner. Hart raced after the referee to complain he had been blocked, only to receive a caution for his protestations and have to trudge back to his goal with the Gallowgate rejoicing in chants of "There's only one Shay Given".

With Hart visibly nervy and the momentum with us, the bumper Boxing Day crowd sensed an equaliser was within reach - and it should have arrived when Ranger did well to nod a cross across goal, only for skipper Nolan to prod wide.

That was City's cue to kill the game off. Having been playing within themselves for most of the second period, they sprung a swift counterattack that saw Newcastle-supporting substitute Adam Johnson - our conqueror in that farcical defeat in September - foiled at the last minute. Undeterred, City tried again - this time Johnson passing to Tevez, whose shot took a wicked deflection to deceive the unlucky Krul and nestle in the back of the net.

The deficit could have been narrowed at the beginning of the four minutes of stoppage time, had ASBO's excellent low free-kick not been parried behind by Hart. But, despite our industriousness and far superior number of goal attempts, we slumped to defeat. No brutal De Jong challenge or mindbogglingly awful refereeing to blame this time - just those self-inflicted wounds.

City fans' views: Bitter & Blue, The Lonesome Death Of Roy Carroll

Other reports: BBC, Guardian